Canada is still behind the US when it comes to MMA, particularly when it comes to purchasing clothing and gear from local merchants. Until just recently I couldn’t even find a rash guard from either of the 2 MMA suppliers in my city. They just started to offer a small selection of T-shirts and hoodies from companies like Tapout and Full Contact Fighter. Because there is only two suppliers in my city, these vendors feel justified in overcharging MMA enthusiasts like myself. So I have turned to on-line MMA suppliers, most of who are located in the US. These retailers provide a wide variety of gear and apparel but like anything else that is brought into Canada, its subject to Customs duties and brokerage fees. It’s frustrating, especially with Customs, because duty charges seem so random. It makes it hard to predict exactly what any given order is going to actually cost you.
That’s when I discovered Red Dragon Fight Company. I had seen Chris, from RDFC.tv, make several posts in the G&E forum and I decided to check them out. First thing I noticed was that they have a great selection of apparel.names like Sprawl, Full Contact Fighter, Wand, Gameness, Warrior Wear, Vitamins & Minerals and more. Most of these brands you can’t even find in Canada, and I definitely can’t get them locally. Despite being in Canada, the prices on RDFC.tv are in US dollars…not a big deal…easy to convert and Chris explained that this was done to appeal to his US and international customers…totally understandable to me.
So I decided that I wanted to order a Vitamins & Minerals long sleeve tribal rash guard (which I will be reviewing later in this thread). I sent Chris a quick PM to ask him what size he thought I should order. Within an hour or so I had already received a response. So I messaged him back and told him that I would be placing an order and that I was going to review the rash guard and my experience dealing with his company. I’ve found many of the reviews I’ve read in this forum to be helpful in deciding which companies to order/not to order from. Now this is the part that blew me away, Chris not only thanked me for my interest in reviewing the rash guard and RDFC.tv but he offered to send me the rash guard and a pair of Red Dragon Fight Company “Anaconda” MMA/Grappling shorts FREE OF CHARGE! Chris told me that they were really interested in having people test their shorts and would appreciate any feedback I could provide. Chris said that he would be sending me the products the following day and that he would PM me the tracking number once they were sent…. and sure enough the next day I had received the tracking number and was told that my items should arrive in 2-3 business days. All I can say is that RDFC.tv has amazing customer service, beyond anything I’ve come to expect from on-line suppliers. It seems that guys like Chris continue to raise the bar when it comes supplying top quality MMA gear and apparel at good prices. I’m one of those guys that feels that good pricing is great but good customer service is what will keep me coming back. I like to support the companies that actually care about the sport and the people that participate in it and not just about making a buck. I would highly recommend RDFC.tv.
So on with the reviews
First off, let me just say that I’m very impressed with guys like Chris from Red Dragon Fight Company, Ron from SSF, and Neil from Kofightgear. The market for MMA gear is extremely competitive and I can only imagine how hard it is to try and create a name for yourself in this industry. I respect guys like Chris because they aren’t just out there to make money off the booming MMA market, they’ve seen what’s out there and said “hey I think we can do it better.” By giving people free gear to test, it’s like saying ‘we have a product that we’re really proud of, we standing behind our product, and we want it to be tested by the people who would use it’ and that attitude is something that I respect very much.
The Dragon Gear “Anaconda” MMA/Grappling Short
Unfortunately, these shorts aren’t currently available in small and because I have a 28-29” waist they are too big for me. Fortunately, all the guys that I train catch wrestling with are bigger than me, so I am going to get one of them to roll in them for a few weeks and then I’ll review their functionality. My first impression though is that they are well made. All the seams and stitching are very neat and clean. These shorts are made from Canvas cotton and feel durable but still seem to move well. There is Gi cloth down the middle and I can definitely see the advantages of having this material when it comes to securing arm bars or omaplatas. Ultimately I think it comes down to personal preference, there are times where I don’t like the feel of standard polyester shorts against my skin, I don’t know why, sometimes I just don’t. So if you’re interested in something durable and with a little different feel, these shorts may be just the ticket.
Now onto the Vitamins & Minerals long sleeve tribal rash guard. I’ve heard that V&M is the one of the very best when it comes to rash guards and I can definitely see why. The quality and feel of this shirt is top notch. I had a chance to roll a little in it last night and I absolutely love it. I’m very impressed with the quality stitching, its easy to see why V&M has been around since 1992. The thing I was most impressed with is how cool this rash guard kept me and the sweat wickening ability was great. The other thing I really like about this rash guard was the arm length, I’m 5’7” and 160 and all of the other rash guards I’ve worn had sleeves that were too long and bunched up at the elbow and I always found this really annoying. Overall this rash guard is awesome, I’m really impressed by the quality V&M puts out.
Thanks again to Chris from Red Dragon fight Company for the great customer service and here's the link for anyone interested in supporting this great company:
http://www.rdfc.tv/
